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Issue Information

Premier Multiple Person PMs

Posted by
Engineer Alexandra Humva
on Nov 22 2012 - 07:22 PM

I believe this was allowed in the introduction post to the tracking system, but if not I do apologize for apparently being unable to read.

Anywho, I was looking at some other sites running IP Board software, and noticed that their PM system allowed for more than two people in it. I head over to here to see why that's not, poke through the Q&A post regarding stuff like this, and see that it's an antispam measure Perfectly understandable, I can imagine how annoying that'd be if a spammer used a feature like that.

My suggestion however is to make this a premier perk. From my point of view, if a spammer decides to pay money to BZP just to do this, s/he can be just as easily proto-dropped/banned and all the staff loose is some time and gain a bit of annoyance, in return for money that can continue to support the site. And honestly, I doubt any spammer would pay to spam.

I don't know much about IPB coding, so I don't know how easy this would be to implement or not, but I think it'd be a pretty nice premier perk, as there's been plenty of times I want to talk to multiple people at the same time, maybe about something going on in an RPG, or just having a conversation. Any extra strain it might put on the server would be offset by the fact that it's a premier perk, and really I can't see much of a downside besides the possible hard work the admins would have to put in to modify the code. I don't know how many people outside of myself would actually use it though, so it might not be popular enough to warrant that time and effort.

I'm sorry, I'm just not seeing the logic behind your point here. If you feel so passionate about PMs, would you argue the same for blogs? Should everyone be able to make a blog?

The problem here mate is that your argument is one babystep away from saying that all premier perks are the staff punishing everyone. There is a difference between punishment, reward, and simple neutrality.

I'm not sure how buying Premier Membership would make your point for you. But see, you're still missing the point. The PM system is designed to be able to do it, sure, but it hasn't been used yet because the Administration knew that it would be abused, and it's not something that's needed. There's email, AIM, Skype, and a million other possibilities for you to use if you'd like to communicate with more than one person at the same time. However, since people have asked for it, the Administration is willing to give it a try. But again, it's not something that's needed, and it is something that can be abused, and this site needs money to stay afloat. So why not kill three birds with one stone? People get the perk that they want, if they want it, there's less of a chance for it to be abused, and BZPower will be able to get more money. It's a win-win-win.

What you're saying would make sense if the Administration took away the PM system entirely except for Premier Members. The PM system still isn't a right, but it is something that every member should have access to. Being able to PM multiple people at once, however, isn't something that every member needs to have access to. It might be nice for some people, and so the Administration is willing to see that and is willing to provided, as long as the people give back. Hence, a Premier Member perk.

If you're using the argument that the PM system is designed to do this, then you might as well say that every member should have every single Premier Perk, and even more. The board is designed to allow blogs. The board is designed to have rank images. And on and on and on. But they were made into a Premier Perk, because the site needs money, they're not necessary things, and people didn't have them before, so they're not losing anything. They're just gaining something if they give a little bit to BZPower.

So it's not irrelevant that we didn't have it in the first place. It is possible (as in, the system is designed to be able to do this) for every member to have moderator abilities. Obviously that was "taken away," and given to only a select few members. But it's not really taking something away because people never had it in the first place. Same with this. It's possible for the system to do this, yes. But that doesn't mean that every member should have it, and again, for good reason. They may be different reasons, but they're both good reasons for why this ability is only for Premier Members, and likewise why only a select few people have moderator abilities.

no I wouldn't argue that for blogs. the only problem with that Is that I can't link to it from here. (something that mimics a monopoly. )
or for the rank images, those are not needed. they simply look cool.
I already have an IM account. but that only works if the other person does as well.
I highly doubt my computer would run skype with the fuss it gives me with everyday tasks. if I could install it.

I'm not saying this because I want it. I want the other things as well. I'm saying this because I don't think you should have to pay for it.
and you mentioned that PMing is not a right. this is another reason I don't like this Idea. It's coming far too close to the line of: If it can't be controlled, eliminate it" way of thinking.

scratch that, we've been there for quite a long time now. and that's one of the things that annoys me about this site. I'm all for having less spam and cussing, but the rules are quite a bit over the top in some cases.

Hey guys, while I appreciate discussion of these suggestions, I think this is beginning to devolve. People have clearly made their cases as to who should have this ability. In the end, it is up to the owners of this privately-run website. We'll keep everything you guys have said in mind, but unless you have some new ideas, let's not go around in circles needlessly.

If it's the rules that need changing, you can always start a suggestion tracker for that. There's already some trackers calling for change about advertising and word filter.

So, I must ask; why is it better to take away something from everyone rather than giving it to a group of people who've given something to the site to earn it? It's like saying people shouldn't have in-door air conditioning because not everyone can afford it. Admittedly, having good AC is far more important than this comparatively speaking, but you get the point.